Alianna tried to settle down in the penthouse over the next couple of days but it proved to be an utter fail.

The main reason was that she was not used to sharing space with anyone. Throughout her childhood she was kept away from the other children trainees except when it came to training and she always isolated herself from civilisation to do her job.

So sharing a home with Jax was unchartered waters for her. She had spent time with him in his office but at the end of the day she returned to her solitude. Now she constantly bumped into him while she walked around which she found awkward especially when he was handling business.

Alianna resorted to using her evasion techniques now. She could recognise the low hum of his baritone voice anywhere now as well as the sound of his footsteps. Using that knowledge she started avoiding rooms Jax were in or darting out from it before he came in.

Presently Alianna was on her way to the library with her recently finished novel with the intent to get another. The penthouse was quiet so she assumed she was alone but when she popped her head into the library she was not.

Jax sat there on his chair with a whiskey in one hand and today's papers in the other. Alianna sighed softly, knowing that she could not go back out. She swallowed and slipped into the room, her hair at the back of her neck standing on end as she felt his eyes on her.

"Stop," Jax said sternly as he placed his glass and newspaper down. Alianna obeyed and turned to face him as he walked over to her. 

"You're avoiding me," Jax stated. "Why?"

Alianna shrugged and dropped her gaze, not feeling to rise to the challenge. Jax raised an eyebrow at her silence, whatever it was deeply troubling her.

His arms wrapped around her waist pulling her closer. He tucked her head under his as she did the same to him. "Talk to me Alianna," he murmured. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's on your mind."

"It's weird," Alianna answered immediately, surprised at her sudden honesty. "This is not me. I have always been distant from people except when it comes to training. Living with someone else is unnatural and the voice in my head is telling me to leave. I am an intruder in your home and I do not belong here."

Jax tilted her chin up, "Alianna, this is my home as much as yours. You're no stranger and more than a guest. Everything is going to take time to adjust but," he smiled at her, "you have got to start and I'll be here for you."

Alianna bit her tongue to stop the burning questions from rolling off her lips. "So...ours?" Her mind toyed with that concept.

Jax could not stop the smile from spreading across his face. "Ours," he echoed, loving how that sounded. Alianna looked up at him as the pad of his thumb brushed the corner of her mouth. The comforting silence was broken as Jax's cell phone rang.

Alianna kept her eyes on Jax as a hard glint slid into place. One thing she had grown accustomed to was the man Jax became when dealing with family matters. She rest her forehead against his shoulder as his fingers rubbed circles into her waist. When his hand stopped, she looked up.

Jax smiled slightly down at her. "We're needed at the warehouse. Go get changed, Naveen is coming with the van in ten minutes."

Alianna's pulse thrummed as she released Jax, "I'll be ready in five."

Jax chuckled as he let Alianna go. This was the first time either of them left the penthouse since Marino's death so he was on high alert. He loaded his gun and placed a couple clips into his pocket before tucking it in the holster.

Alianna was dressed in a pair of black jeans, tank top and boots and waiting for him as he exited the library. He watched her adjusted her gun and knife, a reminder of what she could do. Jax had to keep her safe at all costs, other bosses will want her as an asset to their families.

Jax walked to her side and their fingers automatically intertwined. He felt her pulse racing and he squeezed her hand in an attempt to calm her down. Alianna jumped as Jax's phone rang again.

"Relax, it's just Naveen telling us the that the van is here."

Together they took the elevator down to the ground floor and slipped out using a delivery exit. Alianna's eyes were wide open, ready to protect Jax if necessary. Jax opened the door of a dark grey panelled van and they hopped inside. Naveen nodded at his boss and smiled at Alianna, he recently was assigned to her permanently since most of the Boveri family were afraid of her and he was one of the few people she could get along with.

Jax looked at the woman sat opposite him as the van started moving. "You mentioned something a couple days ago."

Alianna closed her eyes, already knowing the question he was going to ask. She needed to try harder not to let things slip again. "Yes?"

"Is Alianna your real name?"

"I don't know."

Jax frowned and looked at her, half angry that she would lie outright to him. "How could you not know?"

"Because I don't." Alianna maintained her composure. This topic was something she hated to think about.

"Tell me the truth."

"I am."

"Alianna, please."

"I'm telling you what I know and I don't know if it's my real name."

"Alianna, you can't exist without a proper name."

"Yet here I am."

Jax's fist tightened at her quip. He looked at her and to his surprise; he found her tense in pain and discomfort. She would not meet his eyes in her effort to hide. His gaze softened by only a fraction as he sighed.

"Last chance Alianna."

"I'm telling you the truth." She did not bother to hide the hurt in her voice at his distrust in her.

"I'm going to ask you one more time. If you're lying..."

Alianna looked at Jax, "What? You'll kill me?" Jax hid his discomfort at the mere thought as he looked at Alianna who was staring out of the tinted windows. A thick tension filled silence filled the van as guilt dug into Jax's conscience.

"I was taken from my parents as a baby." He looked up at her. She was looking away from him again, revealing how difficult this was for her.

"I don't know what country I was born in, I don't know what my parents look like, I have no recollection of their voices. I had no name as a child, just a number as far as I can remember. It was only when I was placed entire under Marino's care he called me Alianna. I have been many people since then." She tore her eyes away from the New York skyline, "Ask me anything Jax, how to infiltrate crime families, how to kill someone, literature, maths or anything mundane but if you ask me anything about myself, I can't answer you."

Jax exhaled sharply but evenly before moving from his seat to the one next to hers and wrapping his arms around her, folding her against him.

In that moment, he didn't see a killer but a lost soul left to face the world.